thanks for today

Saturday, V invited us to dinner for her birthday at Hanamusashi, a Japanese restaurant in the Metropolitan Ikebukuro 

I started off with a glass of Yamagata toro umeshu (thick plum wine) diluted with soda water...delicious

Satoshi and V shared a bottle of sake...it'll show up later in these photos...

the apertif for the meal was a tiny glass of ice cold umeshu...this one delicious too, a little sweeter than the one I had above

The course was all delicacies from the Hokuriku area (Fukui, Toyama and Ishikawa prefectures)

Kobakogani (female snow crab with eggs and innards) eaten with a vinegary sauce : probably my first time eating the crab eggs and innards, I ate those areas first then saved the sweet flesh for last

Koun (good luck) sake : Junmai Ginjo by Yahiko Sake in Niigata

The bottle of sake V and Satoshi shared

The menu

Appetizers: kaki cheese shiroae (Persimmon with white cheese dressing) : we ate the persimmon too! V said she eats the peel too!

momiji yorodofu (Autumn leaf yorodofu)(square container) : soft "tofu" made with grated yam, this was vinegary and topped with zuwaigani (snow crab)

komochiayu arimani (sweet fish with roe simmered with shoyu and Japanese pepper)

Kaki tamago (seasoned egg yolk made to look like kaki (persimmon))

Fu no Karashiae (wheat gluten mixed with mustard)(leaf like container)

saba Hoshozushi (mackerel pressed sushi)(sudachi(lime) on top)

momiji renkon (marinated lotus root)

ebi ginnan mochi (shrimp fried with ginkgo nut mochi)

shiroebi shinjo daimon somen (white shrimp fishcake) with daimon somen (a type of somen from Toyama) in a clear soup…getting full

keeping the sake cool in a katakuchi (lipped bowl)

Assorted sashimi: maguro (tuna), trout, fresh sweet shrimp and hotaru ika (firefly squid) : first time eating raw hotaru ika, crunchy, super fishy

konowata tororomushi (salted entrails of sea cucumber) steamed with chinese yam : sometimes it is best not to know the english version...this actually tasted more yam then sea cucumber entrails…

amadai (tile fish) 

wakasayaki (grilled with scales then topped with sauce so that the scales do not "stand up") topped with shaved tororo kelp

cooked satoimo (dasheen) made to look like acorn

kikuhana daikon (long radish cut to look like chrysanthemum)

toyama pork harihari nabe (hari hari is the onomatopeoia of the sound when eating mizuna (potherb mustard))

heshiko chazuke (heshiko is a fermented mackerel) : satoshi ate this

echizen oroshi soba (cold soba served with oroshi daikon (grated long radish) : V & I had this

Happy Birthday V!

Tomitsu kintoki mont blanc (sweet potato cake topped with chestnut cream and chestnuts)

Persimmon and Fig Gelee

Sencha in Choju Giga cups 

Choju Giga was the first "manga" in Japan

So full and thankful that V shared her birthday celebration with us

We walked around Ikebukuro before heading home

And along Meguro River...we've done this before.

Thanks for today V, we hope you enjoy the rest of your trip! and have many more birthdays

Hanamusashi

inside Metropolitan Ikebukuro

1-6-1 Nishiikebukuro

Toshima, Tokyo